Theater review: 'Alice in Wonderland' both kid- and animal-friendly

If you've been hankering to take your young ones to live theater but haven't found much that looks appropriate, look no further than North Bay Rep's musical version of Lewis Carroll's "Alice in Wonderland," at the San Rafael Community Center.

Directed by voice coach Sharon Boucher, this "Alice" is straight from the Norman Rockwell era of good old-fashioned family entertainment; a beguilingly simple tale without deep irony, heavy symbolism or too-scary stage effects. Alice (Ashley Baker, or on alternate weekends, Una Lomax-Emrick) meets a strange talking rabbit in her garden, who induces her to disappear through a door into a fantastical world populated by mythical creatures — talking caterpillars, frogs, turtles and mice — and bizarrely incomprehensible people.

A true community theater event, this "Alice" features a cast of more than three dozen performers, with most of the primary and secondary casts alternating appearances throughout the show's three-week run. In addition, Wonderland is populated by Flowers, Eggs and Soldiers, played by preteen girls, young girls and preteen boys, respectively — all of them cute as they can be, and singing like little angels. Boucher has borrowed a page from the Robert Currier playbook in staging this show with 1960s pop songs, most of which lend themselves well to mass-choral performances by kids. "Happy Together" is especially great, backed by a live band under the direction of Daniel Savio.

With their big eyes, oversized costumes and charming miscues, the kids more than make up for some of the show's few slow moments. Most of the adults in the cast range from competent to quite good, another real surprise at this level of theater. Bethe Jensen as the Queen and Sean O'Brien as the Mad Hatter were both excellent on opening night, Jensen as imperious and arbitrary as in any dark portrayal of Carroll's classic, and O'Brien as quick-witted and silly as in any goofy lightweight version.

The dramatic contrast is delightful, as are the costumes by Amaris Blagborne. The music is tremendous, including the predictable "White Rabbit," reprised here and there as theme music. The ensemble is an undeniable case of the whole being larger than the sum of its parts. For animal lovers, one of the most appealing aspects of this show is that all profits go to nearby WildCare, San Rafael's veterinary hospital for wild animals. In short, North Bay Rep's "Alice in Wonderland" is a good time for a good cause.